More Maui

When we last left off, I described our dinner in at my parents’ hotel room. Mom made macadamia nut-crusted mahi mahi and steamed green beans; Dad barbecued steak and asparagus; and we also munched on the fried rice from yesterday’s outing at The Gazebo. 

Yummy dinner in

Everything tasted delicious, and we also devoured the dessert: a hula pie! From what I gathered, it had an Oreo cookie crust, loads of ice cream, and a chocolate shell on top, plus whipped cream.

The next day...

Yeah, there was a bit of a flat tire incident...

Terry woke up super early for a dive trip through Lahaina Divers. He said the trip to the Cathedrals was particularly impressive and a great experience. He got to swim through holes in rocks and practiced his buoyancy (keeping himself in control of where he is in the water). He’s looking forward to returning to Hawaii to explore more, of course.

Gorgeous day for diving!

While Terry dived, I treated myself to a great workout with my mom and Ashley. We got our butts kicked doing Tina’s boot camp workout. As you know, I’m participating in an 8-week boot camp through Tina, along with a few hundred others around the Internet. The first week was focused on stability, and the workout I did with Mom and Ashley wrapped up with a new move that I immediately loved: the Turkish Getup. (Side note: My brother said it sounds like a dance, to which I replied, “No, that’s the Turkish Get Down.” This, my friends, is how my family does comedy.) The move is certainly one I’ll be incorporating into my own circuits, and I highly recommend it to you! Try 5 on each side with a light weight, and then watch this guy do the move whileholding a human. (I like how, when he stands up, he looks at the camera and gestures as if to say, "What? That was easy.") Then go do 5 more on each side.

After our sweaty workout, I showered up and ate a quick breakfast before one of the highlights of my trip: a massage! I LOVE massages! I’m not normally very good at relaxing, but apparently paying an obscene amount of money to lie down on a table while a little old lady (she was super cute) works out all the knots in my neck does the trick. It was 55 minutes of bliss. I mentioned ahead of time that I’ve been running lately, so Sharon, my masseuse, told me she would work on my IT band (which, I learned, is the “band” that runs from your knee to your hip, on the outside of your quad). I should have known by the twinkle in her eye that it wasn’t going to be fun, but damn! What on earth have I been doing to myself? Apparently I’ve been wrenching my IT band into a super tight knot. I almost couldn’t take it, because sweet, little, elderly Sharon was really quite ruthless with my poor legs.

Still, I enjoyed the massage and met up with my parents for a bit of pool time before Terry picked me up after scuba. We met my brother and Ashley and walked over to Maui Brewing Company for lunch. The food was above par for a brewery, and we all found at least one beer we liked (they have samplers as well as beers on tap). Who knew Hawaii had a beer scene?

Taster

Maui brew

 After a few hours relaxing, we all met up again to head over to my mom’s birthday dinner at Mama’s Fish House. We’d gotten a lot of recommendations for this place, and wow, wow, wow – I can’t speak highly enough of it. First of all, while it is quite out of the way (around an hour to drive there), the location is breathtaking. Once you park, you walk down a path that virtually erases the highway noise and leaves you in the midst of pure paradise. We arrived for our reservation at 7:30 but learned that it may actually be best to enjoy dinner at sunset or twilight to take advantage of the views. The restaurant lies right on the beach, with plenty of beachside palm trees and little benches for a casual stroll before or after dinner. (What a lovely place to honeymoon or get engaged…!) The restaurant is completely open-air, so you can hear and see the waves while you eat the fish caught that day.

My lehi

Yep, it’s a daily menu, based on what is fresh and available from local fishermen.

Lobster guacamole

We loved the food and drinks: mai tais, scorpions, lobster guacamole, wasabi-crusted calamari, freshly baked honey whole-wheat bread with poppy seeds (seriously yummy), asparagus soup, crab- and lobster-stuffed mahi mahi, fresh lehi in white wine sauce, and fresh ice cream to finish. It was well worth the price and a place we’ll certainly make a point to visit again!

Dad and the belated birthday girl

Freshly baked bread

Crab-and-lobster-stuffed mahi mahi

I don't remember what this dish was, but doesn't it look delicious?

After a good night’s sleep, Terry and I woke up for a quick workout, again part of Tina’s boot camp. This week’s challenge is the tempo of the exercises; for example, stationary lunges with dumbbells where you lower for four counts, hold for two counts, and return to starting in one count. Plus, on the last rep you pulse 15 times. Hello, quads! (And that IT band? Yeah, it was screaming!) We built up quite a sweat, then grabbed a quick breakfast (complete with Maui Farmers' Market fruit and homemade banana nut bread) and then packed up before heading to our whale watching adventure.

Since this post is already quite lengthy, I'll leave you there and pick up with the incredible whales on the next one! Enjoy!